Magic Shell

You probably remember Magic Shell syrup from your childhood.  I remember drizzling it over my ice cream and waiting those few seconds until the syrup hardened into the famous shell.  It was a real treat when we had it at our house.

I didn't know then that the grocery store version is loaded with unnatural substances to make that "magic" happen.

Here's an all-natural version that works the same, but has simple natural ingredients (adjust ingredients to taste):

• 1/3 Cup organic coconut oil (coconut oil is solid at temperatures below 77 degrees which is how the "magic" happens)
• 1 Cup of quality chocolate such as Ghiradelli dark
• Melt for a few seconds in the microwave.
• Stir until blended.

Drizzle over your favorite ice cream and enjoy!

Cacao or Cocoa Nibs

Some recipes call for cacao "nibs".  A nib is simply a small piece of the larger cacao bean.

Many people don't know that the cacao bean comes from a collection of seeds within a pod grown on the cacao tree in tropical regions.  It is surrounded by a sticky substance and locals call it a "jungle M&M".

The beans are cleaned and traditionally sun-dried.

Cacao Nibs

After they are dried, the bean can be ground into powder.  A "nib" is simply a small piece of the dried bean.  The nib is bitter with a coffee/ nutty taste.

Nibs are sometimes called for in cookies, smoothies, oatmeals, cereal, yogurt and more.  It's a great way to  add nutrients and antioxidants to some foods without adding the sugar and fat usually associated with chocolate.

Enjoy a few nibs (or grind your own from whole raw cacao beans) -- found at your local health foods store.

Cacao Tree

Cacao Pod 

Dried Cacao Beans

Cocoa or Cacao?

The cocoa vs. cacoa thing confused me.  A couple of years ago I passed up some great chocolate at the health foods store simply because I didn't understand the spelling.

Pronounced [ka-cow], cacao is how raw foodists pronounce the same exact thing you probably call cocoa.  Except, if you see or hear cacao,  it probably signifies a raw chocolate powder, sauce, bar, butter, etc.  And that difference is huge!

Chocolate carries a lot of nutritional qualities (in small infrequent quantities) and has strong antioxidant qualities.  Nutritionist and raw food advocate, David Wolfe, had a high-quality cocoa powder compared to that of raw cacao powder in a labratory and they found raw cacao to contain 367% more antioxidants.  Look for raw cacao (you can still say cocoa if you choose) powder at your local health foods store.

So why the difference in pronunciation and spelling?  Apparently most of the world refers to cocoa as cacao.  As legend has it, an English trader misheard and then mispelled the cacao bean and today (in the English speaking world) we have cocoa.

Most chocolate consumed in the United States is derived from cocoa beans dried by large high-heat ovens.  Raw cocoa beans are dried with heat of 100 degrees or less or sun-dried to retain it's full nutritional value.

So now you know why some say cacao and some say cocoa and why some seek out raw vs. processed.